The Warlock's Apprentice
by nibby9
Summary: In future Camelot, the Kingdom is thriving. Albion has been united and Arthur is becoming the King he was destined to be. But when Merlin takes in a young Druid girl, the consequences could be devastating. With secrets, betrayal and Morgana using destiny itself as a weapon, the whole of Albion rests on the shoulders of the girl whose fate she will try everything to prevent.
1. Chapter 1

**The Warlock's Apprentice**

**Summary:** In future Camelot, Albion is thriving - Arthur is king and the kingdom has never had a greater leader but when old enemies return with the greatest weapon of all - destiny itself, a young girl at the centre of it all has to make a terrible choice.

**A/N:** This is my first Merlin fic and is set about 16 years after series 3, Arthur's King and married to Gwen and Merlin is the court sorcerer, I hope you like it! Please review!

**Disclaimer**: Merlin is owned by the BBC, not me

Alexandra stared up at the city of Camelot; it was so different – so busy. Quickening her pace she raced on her horse to the gates of this new life and after getting passed the guards, dismounted and looked around in awe. It was so big, with the castle standing tall over the whole Kingdom – "Wow!" was all she could say. She walked over to the entrance of the castle before being stopped by the guards,

"State your business here" They said simply.

"I wish to have an audience with the King; I have come in search of work." She replied nervously

"We'll see what we can do." And with a faint smile, they walked into the depths of the castle and disappeared from sight. In the meantime, Alexandra chose to have a look around the market while she was there – coming from a small camp she had rarely seen something as wonderful with so many exotic goods for sale. There were fine silks and cloths, beautiful jewellery and makeup and so many types of foods and herbs than she could count as well as so much more. Being a fairly poor family she had never really seen anything that expensive or rich and so she was thrilled with the choice of items. However, she was swiftly brought back down to reality when she felt something strange. The magic in her veins was reacting to something but she didn't know what, she stopped suddenly expecting the feeling to go away only it didn't. It grew and grew as did her anticipation; she grew up around familiar people and hardly ever met anyone different so this feeling came as a shock. In the end she didn't know what to do – it wasn't a bad feeling, it was warm and was more of a recognition feeling than a warning, but still she decided to get away.

She quickly started walking again that turned into more of a jog as she weaved through the people at the market but instead of going away, the feeling grew even more until she felt like it couldn't get any bigger, panic etched on her face as she began to run but did not get very far before smashing into a man. The feeling suddenly changed, she wasn't frightened anymore before realising that she had just smashed into someone. She murmured a quiet apology before looking up at the person. He had short black hair and sticky out ears but what drew her attention was his large blue eyes, filled with mystery and wisdom. She became slightly entranced by their depths before coming back to reality when she heard him speak,

"Are you ok?" he asked kindly, looking down at her,

"Oh, yes. Um, yes I'm fine I'm really sorry about bumping into you, it was a total accident but I should have been looking where I was going, it was all my fault and I am really, really sorry, I didn't mean to but I've always been kinda clumsy but it really was my fault and I am really-" but she was cut off by him,

"Hey, it's alright! I'm fine you don't need to apologise – it was probably my fault anyway," he said to her gently,

Suddenly a man appeared from nowhere and laughed, she looked at him curiously. "It's always his fault – isn't it _Mer_lin! You're the clumsiest buffoon I've ever known!" he laughed while the man, who she guessed was Merlin, rolled his eyes.

"At least I'm not a total prat like you Arthur!" he retorted, chuckling himself now,

"Hey!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, at least I'm not a total prat like you, _my lord_!" At this Alexandra widened her eyes, he was calling this other man 'my lord', that meant that he was important, possibly royalty but the fact that he called him Arthur got rid of any doubt, she was stood in front of the King himself.

"Oh, my lord! I didn't know that it was you sire! My humblest apologies, it will never happen again – it's my first day in Camelot see, and-" but before she could finish she was again interrupted,

"Relax! Don't worry umm..."

"Alexandra, my lord"

"Don't worry Alexandra! No harm done," he said smiling "Your first day in Camelot you said, what brings you here?"

"Oh I'm searching for work my lord, and also hopefully find my father," she replied, returning the smile while pushing her hair behind her ear,

"You're a bit young to be wanting work, you only look around 13, did you come here alone?"

"Yes sire, and I am indeed 13 years old but I became a bit unwanted at my camp,"

"Camp?" Merlin interjected, "Ahh, you're a druid!" he realised noticing the symbol on her upper arm.

"Yes, I am," she said smiling

"But why were you unwanted at your camp?" The King said, also seeing the druid symbol marked clearly on her arm and mentally kicking himself for not noticing it sooner.

With this question her face fell slightly, "Because there were a few, well problems and they were scared, I was a bit too powerful" She said simply with a sad smile.

"Oh," they both said, feeling sympathy for this young girl who was so alone, "I have an idea!" said Merlin, breaking the silence. "You need help with controlling your magic you're still looking for work and it would be nice for me to have some help sometimes so why don't you become my apprentice!" he said with a goofy grin feeling quite proud of himself for making the connection.

"Do you have magic then?" she asked innocently before she heard a stifled laugh coming from the King,

"Does he have magic! Ha! He's the court sorcerer!" he laughed

"Oh." She said, "Well then, yes! It would be perfect if you want to..." she said, eyes shining with the widest grin she could manage plastered across her face with a glint of hope in her eyes.

"Great!" Merlin exclaimed "Come with me and I'll get you some chambers." He said also smiling as he lead her away from the market and into the castle, now only hoping that he was as good a teacher to her as Gaius was to him.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Here is my update, I'm going to try and do one once a week but I just couldn't stop once started I hope you enjoy it - please review as it all helps, constructive criticism welcome! Thanks to _Heather2910_ and _MediEvil Ways_ for my first reviews, also I am going to edit out the flashback scene to put in a later chapter – keep reading! ;)

#~MERLIN~#

Alexandra looked out of the window from her chambers and stared across the vast open landscape in front her, it was so beautiful. She couldn't believe her luck when she had bumped into the court sorcerer and the King on her first day in Camelot and was now Merlin's apprentice, it was more than she could have ever have hoped for. It was a cold winter's evening but she was nice and warm in her new accommodation, chambers in the palace itself! She was used to being stuck out in the cold after 2 months with nowhere to live. Merlin had found her a nice sized single bed chamber joined next to his own by a small door and it was more luxurious than she imagined – it had a clean, comfortable bed, a desk and chair, a wardrobe and of course a large window with a breathtaking view over Camelot. Although she was still new to this great kingdom, she was beginning to become more familiar with it and often enjoyed some time alone with the stars up above where she could think to herself. She didn't miss the druid camp one bit – they hated her there, she was seen as vile, a pest, but now she almost felt wanted. Merlin was kind to her and wasn't given especially hard work while he taught her things about her magic, the magic that had made her an outcast from her own people, the magic that she almost hated for being born with. But he had stopped that feeling and now she felt lucky to have been given this great gift. Gift – not curse like she had always thought of it as. As her mind began to ponder her fortune and what her life could now hold, she was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Alexandra, can I come in?" A voice asked from outside who she recognised as Merlin,

"Yes, sure," she replied, wondering why he had asked to talk to her at that time of night. "And you can call me Alexa if you like." She always felt her name to be too clunky and long but she liked her simpler shortened version much better. Merlin carefully opened it and poked his head around the door

"Ok," he replied smiling, "The King is holding a council meeting and I was wondering if you would like to come, I think it would be good for your training." He told her, his signature goofy grin still on his face. Alexa had only been there for a couple of weeks but she settled in well and was liked by everyone she met, including Merlin.

"Of course!" she said grinning; only the higher members of the council were allowed these meetings and so she was very privileged to be able to attend. "What's it about? It's quite late to be holding one." She asked curiously, it really was quite late and council meetings usually happened in the mornings,

"I don't know – let's go and find out but we better be quick – Arthur will be furious if I'm late for _another_ one," he answered laughing slightly, beckoning Alexa to follow him. She quickly jumped off the window sill, patted her dress to remove some of the creases and followed him into the corridor.

#~MERLIN~#

"We have received word from one of the patrols that a beast has been sighted near the borders of Mercia, it has attacked one of the outlying villages and we believe it to be magical," announced the King to the council "We must ride out and kill the beast before it causes any more fatalities."

"What does it look like?" asked one of the knights, Alexa didn't recognise which one.

"Witnesses describe it as a black dog with glowing red eyes," replied Arthur,

"A dog?" Laughed the same knight, "That's what all this is about? A dog?"

"Did I mention that this dog was described as the size of a small horse?" Arthur said sternly, showing no humour on his face – that shut the knight up.

"I'll check in Gaius' old books for the beast and try to find out how to kill it." Merlin said seriously, Alexa had never seen them look so serious and stern, they had always usually been laughing and joking and it came as a shock to see them like this.

"Good idea, we ride at dawn." The King concluded, signalling the end of the meeting and leaving the main hall followed by the rest of the council along with Merlin and Alexa. Once back in their chambers Merlin began taking down handfuls of books from the many shelves lining the walls of the main room and gestured for her to help him. Soon they were searching quickly through them for any idea as to what this mysterious beast was and more importantly – how to kill it. It had been almost an hour and still no sign as to any information before she heard Merlin cry out in triumph.

"Yes! Got it!" he cried, extremely happy with himself, "It's known as a phantom black dog with glowing red eyes – that's definitely it! Oh..." His face fell, "It's seen as a portent of death – not a good sign..." He looked down at Alexa and smiled weakly "But the good news is, we can still kill it! All I need to do is learn this spell." Alexa narrowed her eyes.

"What do you mean all _you_ have to do – I'm coming too!" She said defiantly

"Oh no you're not!" Merlin said firmly, "And that's final. It's way too dangerous for a girl your age to come!"

"I can look out for myself!" She snapped back before turning around and running into her room, slamming the door behind her. Merlin winced at the bang of it slamming shut and shook his head before putting it in his hands – she was going to be a handful.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Wow! Two updates in one day! Amazing, I am really into the story at the moment so I'm just going to keep writing! Remember to review! Hope you enjoy

#~MERLIN~#

Morgana thrashed violently in her sleep, wincing and crying out because of the images flashing in her dreams. A beast, a black dog attacking some people – wait – they weren't just people, they were knights of Camelot. She lost any kind of guilt or sympathy that she felt whilst watching these people being slaughtered and instead smirked – serves them right. But then it changed, she saw Merlin using magic to defend someone – that traitor! Too many times had he thwarted her plans for the takeover of Camelot! It was he who stood in her way between getting what she rightfully deserved! But again the visions changed and what she saw brought the most joy she had felt in a long, long time.

#~MERLIN~#

Merlin gathered the last of his belongings needed for the quest and shoved them in a small bag that he wore over his shoulder and left his chambers for the courtyard where his horse was waiting. When he arrived he saw the rest of the knights chosen to come on the quest - Sir Galahad, Sir Drayton, Sir Leon, Sir Gwaine, Sir Elyan, Sir Lancelot and Sir Percival - also getting ready for leaving.

"Merlin, my friend!" said Gwaine slapping him on the back, "I haven't seen you lately, but then again I was so drunk the past week I probably have and can't remember!"

"Nice to see you too Gwaine," Merlin chuckled, "And I've been quite busy with my new apprentice."

"Ah yes, I heard about her – outcast druid girl yeah? Well, you have fun with that, now did I pack my mead?" Gwaine began searching through his entire luggage, messing up all the neatly packed clothes to the dismay of his servant standing nearby.

Merlin laughed to himself and checked that everything was fastened and ready before climbing onto his horse like the rest of the knights and galloping off into the forest. Little did he know that Alexa was also packed and ready for leaving before also clambering onto her trusty horse and following them silently behind.

As they arrived in the clearing with a view of the village that was attacked, everyone bowed their heads in sadness – the whole place was silent and abandoned. Blood marked the streets where people had been attacked and doors were left ajar, building empty, homes left deserted. This beast had claimed a whole village, all the men, women and even the children – gone, dead. This just made Arthur and the rest of them even angrier that it had shown no mercy, just killed and killed – something had to be done quickly. They made camp at the top of the hill that the clearing was on so that they had a clear view of the surrounding area if the beast were to show up as they waited for it to come. Merlin made a fire once it got dark and cooked a stew for them, he was definitely the best cook among them by far and knew how to make the most of the little that they had brought, after all, it was only going to be a few days long.

Alexa had also stopped to make camp nearby where she could only just hear the men laughing and talking in their camp. She wasn't scared – she never was, but there was something about the woods that were around her and the fact that no one knew she was there that but her on edge. "It'll be worth it," she told herself for she knew that when the beast came she would be able to kill it before Merlin did – show him that she was capable of looking after herself and also, she wanted to show him what she could do. At the moment it had only really been about controlling her magic – which helped a lot but he didn't know what she was capable of. The most she had done was light a few fires and move objects but she could do so much more and all she wanted to do was prove herself. He said that it was too dangerous for a girl of her age, but look at her now! She got here by herself without the slightest bit of trouble, she had made her own camp and soon was going to kill a fearsome beast all on her own – how could he imply that she couldn't look after herself then? With all of this thinking, she didn't hear the twig snap behind her. She didn't see the hound step into the clearing and she didn't see it bare its jaws after finding its next victim.

Merlin laughed loudly like the rest of the men around the campfire as Gwaine finished telling his story, they had all eaten a large dinner and had drunk a lot of mead so to be perfectly honest, they would have laughed at anything. However, a sudden chill in the air and feeling that something was wrong brought Merlin back to his senses. His magic shifted uncomfortably in his veins and he felt an uneasy feeling that he didn't like at all. Arthur was the first person to notice Merlin's dramatic change in character and he quickly grabbed his sword from nearby which caused the others to follow suit.

"Merlin, what's wrong?" He asked seriously

"It's here." Was all he got in reply which caused everyone to spring to their feet and look around with concentration. They all knew that Merlin's instinctual feelings were rarely or never wrong and so if Merlin said that it was here – it was most definitely here. This was once again confirmed when they heard one of the most bone chilling and alarming sound that they had ever heard. It was a girl screaming.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**: Hey everyone, I'm on a role at the moment – 4 chapters in 3 days! Merlin was amazing tonight and I can't wait for next week! This isn't one of my best chapters but there will be better ones soon, I promise! Please leave a review; they're what keep me going! I reply to everyone I get so please do, it can be as short or as long as you like! Hope you like it :) Enjoy!

#~MERLIN~#

Alexa screamed as she looked up at the black beast – it was enormous and the fangs had to be at least the length of a grown man's hand. It stared at her maliciously with murderous intent and although she had been well prepared with the right spells, she found herself frozen up against a large oak tree, unable to move. She tried to do magic – anything to stop it from advancing but her lips refused to move as she watched it with wide eyes, praying silently for some kind of miracle. It was safe to say that she had never been so terrified in her entire life and she hated herself for being so weak and defenceless when she was so sure that she would easily defeat it. She wasn't prepared - she wasn't ready, but it was too late now, she was going to die. Or at least that's what she thought until Arthur, the knights and Merlin charged in from the opposite side of the small clearing, distracting the ghost dog from its prey long enough for her to sink to the ground in relief and quickly crawl behind a cluster of trees and bushes.

"Come on men!" she heard Arthur shout as all the knights assembles a defensive formation, Merlin standing ready at the side as the dog turned to face its new opponents. It growled viciously, jaws wide in readiness for the attack and eyes focused on its target, Alexa cowered. From where she was sat it was no real threat to her but the thought of the defenceless villagers that it attacked and killed made her shake, never before had she seen something so evil. It frightened her. But before she could think any more on the matter, she watched it raise a gigantic paw and forcefully hit the men, pushing a few of the knights onto the ground with a sickening crunch. She gasped when she watched them fall like rag dolls being tossed aside, Merlin looked up from where he was attending to the knights obviously hearing then remembering that she was there, unfortunately so did the beast.

It turned yet again, feeling that she was a much easier target than the others and began charging full speed directly at her but just before it caused the fatal blow that it had the others, it stopped as though hitting an invisible shield – Merlin, she thought as she sighed in relief. This was short lived as it instead flung its tail towards the unsuspecting warlock, hitting into his head causing him to crumple to the ground.

"No!" she screamed, praying that he wasn't dead and also catching the attention of the King who had been preoccupied with checking on his men while Merlin dealt with it. He quickly rallied the conscious knights and they advanced more carefully this time. The hound was getting angry now, it had been trying to attack for a while now and still had not made a kill – it faced the King with frustration, determined that it would succeed this time and charged full on towards them, they stood no chance. That was until a voice screamed behind it – "Ācwellan dwimor docgan!"* and it fell to the floor, dead.

Arthur looked up in shock, wondering what had happened and who had done it, knowing full well that Merlin was lying unconscious on the floor. It can't have been her – surely Alexa what just a little girl, not capable of that kind of power, but it had to have been. He was going to go over and ask her about it when he realised that she wasn't there anymore and instead saw her kneeling beside Merlin in a desperate attempt to wake him. This quickly brought the King back to reality when he remembered that there had been wounded and looked back over at the fallen knights. He recognised them as Sir Drayton and Sir Galahad both lying at odd angles, Elyan had beaten him to coming to their aid and checking vital signs but looked up and sadly shook his head. They were loyal knights and had served Camelot and Albion well; their sacrifices would not be forgotten.

#~MERLIN~#

They rode back as quickly as possible and arrived in the safety of Camelot by dawn of the next morning, greeted by not the most welcoming sight – Guinevere stood in the courtyard, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. Arthur groaned before he dismounted his horse and walked over to her, dreading the accusations and lectures that were about to come, he didn't care though – he loved her too much to.

"You could have at least told me you were going! I woke up to find you gone! Dawn, I heard the guards say, without as much as a goodbye! And what have you done to poor Merlin? He looks exhausted and even paler than he usually is! I could go on - I mean look at-"but she was cut off as she was pulled into a passionate kiss from Arthur. "Maybe I can forgive you..." she said quietly, her tone softening.

"Thank you," he murmured back to her before kissing her again, this time being broken off by Gwen,

"I said maybe," She winked before turning around and walking back into the castle followed by her husband. In the meantime, Alexa and Merlin were already in their chambers, dumping their belongings on the nearby table and sitting down.

"You hungry?" he asked, getting up again and walking over to where they kept their food supplies.

"Starving!" she exclaimed, only just realising she was ravenous having not eaten since this time yesterday. She looked up smiling as she usually did – she was beginning to get a signature grin that was quite similar to Merlin's. He passed her some bread which she took gratefully and began chewing hungrily, breaking off large pieces and watching Merlin do the same – it had been a very long day. She looked at Merlin from across the table, only just noticing the slight pained expression across his face.

"Are you alright?" she questioned cautiously, still watching him

"Yeah, it just stings a bit." He answered with a small smile which she wasn't buying.

"You should go and see the court physician – who is he anyway?" She enquired, having never had a reason to need such a person so had never met them before.

"You're looking at him" he stated, still smiling – 'Great' she thought as she rolled her eyes. Alexa walked around to his side of the table to examine the wound. It wasn't particularly bad but would be quite painful and could become infected if not treated properly.

"No offence Merlin, but why on earth did King Arthur make _you _the court physician? I mean, you're not exactly the stereotype are you?"

"Hey!" he said offended, but winced at the sharp pain going through his skull "I am a quite powerful warlock, I'll have you know! You don't really need to know much about actual healing when you can just use magic but I did learn quite a lot from helping Gaius..." he sighed, remembering his old tutor and father figure from his first years in Camelot who had died peacefully in his sleep about 10 years ago. Alexa noticed the sadness in his eyes and decided not to ask who this Gaius was and instead focused on getting the honey for his injury.

"You're quite powerful then?" she asked, hoping it would take his mind off whatever sad memories he was remembering

"Yeah, the most powerful ever to have lived according to the druids..." At this Alexa became interested – if he was the most powerful sorcerer to have ever been born then why had she never heard of him? He seemed to have noticed the confused expression on her face

"You'll probably know me as Emrys though." He added. At this her eyes widened in shock and she dropped the honey pot she was holding and backed up against the wall.

"No... No, no, no, no, no, no, NO! You _can't _be! You just... can't!" She practically screamed before almost sobbing – "You can't..." and lowering herself onto her knees, her head in her hands. "You can't be!" She cried before mumbling something similar to herself that was inaudible between her sobs, not noticing the surprise on her mentor's face.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hey everyone, thanks to everyone who added my story to favourites/story alert after chapter 4, hope you enjoy this chapter! :)

#~MERLIN~#

Alexa awoke the next morning with red, puffy eyes from the night before, groaning when she remembered what had happened. How could this be happening to her? When it had all been going so well? She knew it was too good to last and forced herself up out of bed and got dressed for the day ahead. She could hear Merlin asleep next door and decided it best not to wake him up, instead leaving the room and going out into the corridor where she headed for the best place to think – the south tower. It was beautiful there and she could feel the morning wind blowing softly through her long hair as she gazed across the expanse in front of her. But she could not admire its beauty as her mind was preoccupied with the revelation from the night before. Of course he would be Emrys – protector to the once and future king, who else would it be? But for some reason her mind had never made the connection, probably in denial she thought but before she could think any more on the matter she jumped at a voice behind her.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" it asked, she turned around seeing a boy of about her age standing before her

"Alexa and last time I checked I was free to go where I liked – who are you? I've never seen you here before." She narrowed her eyes, who would come up here to question her and be so rude about it?

"I'm Kay and this is where I come by the way," He offered to shake hands and she did so reluctantly "You've probably never seen me round here because I've been away for a while with my sister to watch a tournament in a neighbouring kingdom, we were the honoured guests!" He said smugly, he was beginning to get on her nerves.

"Honoured guests?"

"Yes, I'm the prince of Camelot and Ade – my sister – is the princess, we're twins" he explained as if it were obvious.

"I only arrived a couple of weeks ago, I didn't know – sorry"

"It's ok, I expected as much from a peasant coming from another land" At this Alexa became riled – peasant! How dare he!

"I'll have you know that I'm the court sorcerer's apprentice!" she snapped, disliking him more by the second

"Sorry..." he said offended "And you really should address me as 'sire' or 'my lord' you know!"

"Well I'm sorry but the only thing you're worthy of being addressed as is 'prat'!" she cried, remembering how Merlin had used it when talking with Arthur and stormed off flustered from the tower.

#~MERLIN~#

Merlin woke to find the chambers empty in the morning, still very confused at Alexa's reaction the night before. What could have made her become so upset and shocked after discovering his druid name? He was going to question her this morning but had no idea where she might have gone and instead went about his daily rounds on his own, hoping to bump into her along the way. An hour later when he had finished, he still hadn't seen her anywhere and was beginning to get worried. She had been in such a state last night, she could be anywhere for all he knew. By lunchtime he was especially worried as there was still no sign of her – where could she be? In the end he decided to visit Gwen and ask her if she'd spotted her as Alexa quite liked Guinevere – maybe she had gone to her?

"No sorry Merlin, I haven't seen her all day - you could try asking around the castle, surely someone would have noticed a 13 year old girl gone astray." She told him with a kind smile, "You'll find her."

Merlin sighed, not looking forward to searching the entire castle but set of anyway but was stopped halfway by the prince.

"What's the matter Kay?"

"You said you were looking for a girl, around 13, long black hair?"

"Yes that's her," his eyes brightening "You've seen her?" he asked hopefully

"Yes, unfortunately. She called me a prat!" Merlin suppressed a smile and heard Gwen try to stifle a laugh behind him – she'd obviously picked that up from him.

"Where was she?"

"At the south tower when I saw her, but she stormed off down the east stairwell I think..."

"Thanks Kay!" he said ruffling his hair before sprinting out of the room with an idea of where she could be.

#~MERLIN~#

She looked across the openness of the cave that was so large and peaceful; no one would find her here. It was one of the places Merlin had showed her in her first couple of days and she was thankful for knowing about such a remote and isolated spot. A great dragon used to live here he had told her, Kilgharrah. But now it was empty and quiet, just what she wanted. She'd have to leave soon, get as far away from Camelot as possible and Merlin. He'd be thankful one day, thankful that he didn't get fully involved with her – she was just a curse. A curse on everyone she met loved and cared about. She was destined to be alone for eternity.

Merlin sped down the stairs with a torch in his hand, this brought back memories! When he finally came to the cave opening, sure enough there was Alexa, hand stretched in front while balls of fire danced in front. He came and sat next to her as she lowered her hand, still staring straight in front.

"Do you believe that we must fulfil our destiny?" she asked

"Yes, I do," he answered truthfully, he himself asked that many times when he first met Arthur and found out his but now, he regretted nothing.

"But what if you really didn't want to, what if it was so terrible that you couldn't do it?

"What's all this about Alexa?" He asked and she turned finally to face him, tears in her eyes.

"What if your destiny was to kill Emrys?"


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Hey – I'm back again! Yes, after a rather long break – over 2 months! – I have finally decided to take this story back up again after I got a beta, **Wildchild17**. She is awesome and I plan to continue this fic to the end this time. So sorry for the massive wait but we had such a massive load of homework that I forgot about this until now! Reviews always help the stories to come quicker! :D

**Disclaimer**: If I really owned Merlin, would I be posting it on a _fan_fiction website? Just so you are totally clear on that no– I don't actually own it.

The plot will get interesting soon I promise!

_Previously: "What's all this about Alexa?" Merlin asked and she turned finally to face him, tears in her eyes. _

"_What if your destiny was to kill Emrys?"_

**#~MERLIN~#**

Merlin was shocked to say the least, leaving him speechless as his ward, as he now called her, just told him that she was prophesised to kill him. He tried to speak at first but no words came out; how could this girl, his own apprentice, be his doom. He had always thought that it would be Morgana or another sorcerer bent on revenge for Uther's inhumane crimes but to think that someone so close to him, someone he'd began to love in a fatherly way, would be his end left him totally unprepared. Alexa must have seen his shocked state because soon she broke into sobs next to him, also realising what this truly meant. He looked down at the innocent broken girl crying next to him and his common sense kicked in. No, this couldn't be right! It just couldn't! It was too absurd to even think about; of course she wasn't going to kill him! Shaking all doubt from his mind he quickly regained his ability to speak and move; he placed a comforting arm around her shoulders. She looked up in surprise but before she could talk Merlin got their first,

"Alexa, don't be so upset! Stop crying - it's fine, we're all fine and are going to stay that way. I have no intention of being angry at you and you, hopefully, have no intention of killing me." He looked down and stared into her swirling midnight blue eyes, absolute certainty shining through and, with a small smile, she believed him. Maybe she wasn't going to be a monster – it was her destiny and she could stop it if she wished. Slowly, she raised her head to face him fully and shakily began to speak;

"So... y-you're not m-mad?" she asked between her sobs.

"Why would I be?" He replied kindly, "I know you wouldn't and who says that our lives are totally controlled by what was said about us years ago." He stood up before wiping his clothes of the rock and dirt from the floor and gently offered his hand to Alexa which she gladly took and they headed back to the bustling city above.

**#~MERLIN~#**

After heading back to his chambers, – tripping many times on the way – Merlin sat on his bed and thought, staring hard at the door leading to the small antechamber that was Alexa's room. He had put on a brave face for her earlier to console her but now his doubts were returning. What if she was capable of doing it? Could she be a threat to Camelot – to Albion – to Arthur? There was still quite a lot about the girl he had yet to discover, her background was a bit vague but he had seen that whatever had happened to her in the past had been painful and so he didn't press the matter. But what if this, what if that; his mind just kept coming up with more and more until he just had to shake his head at himself. Why would she? She's just a girl and maybe if she ever would, Merlin could change that now. The look in her eye when she told him about her terrible destiny and the shock when he first revealed himself as 'Emrys' – it couldn't have been an act. He had stayed up all night debating in his head until in the end he could only think of one solution and headed out into the forest before unleashing a mighty roar into the sky which was then followed by the whoosh of flapping wings as the great dragon landed in front of him.

"Young Warlock, I expect that there is a reason that you have called me here at such an hour?" Kilgharrah asked

"I'm not so young anymore you know!" Merlin replied

The dragon laughed, "Compared to me, _young warlock, _you are merely an infant! Even Aithusa is older than you are Merlin!"

"Where is Aithusa anyway?"

"Oh, he'll be around somewhere; he is very rebellious and refuses to take one bit of notice from me."

Merlin chuckled at the idea of Kilgharrah trying to tame such a high spirited and unruly thing but soon remembered the reason why he was here "I came to ask you something,"

"Don't you always?" he retorted

Merlin ignored him before continuing "I'm here to ask you about a girl, her name is Alexa, I mean, um, Alexandra?"

The great dragon's eyes narrowed. "Angauna," he growled.

"What?"

"That is the little witch's name – Angauna. But beware, young warlock, she is dangerous. Angauna will be your downfall Merlin – whether you like it or not."

"No, I don't believe you – I can stop this from happening! She doesn't want to kill me!"

"Yet." He replied. Merlin began to lose hope,

"Is there anything, anything at all that I can do to stop it?"

"There is but one way young warlock," Merlin looked up hopefully "You must kill the witch before she kills you." Merlin looked stunned – he wasn't going to kill her! He wasn't a cold blooded murderer.

"No." He said firmly "No, I won't do it."

The dragon was getting angry now. "Merlin, listen to me, the consequences of this will devastate Albion and everything that you have worked for!"

"I don't care – no. I can change her, she won't, she wouldn't..." He looked up again before turning to leave the small clearing.

"I warned you, you brought this on yourself. One final thing though Merlin," he turned back briefly. "Angauna, young warlock, means death." And with that he flapped his giant wings and flew off into the night leaving Merlin with even more questions than before.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Here is chapter 7 – I hope you like it :D This is kind of a filler chapter but the good stuff is coming I swear! R&R please!

**Disclaimer: **No, as much as I'd like to, I don't own Merlin

**#~MERLIN~#**

The next few days passed slowly for Merlin; after his talk with the dragon he was even more confused and torn between the fate of Albion and the love for his ward. No matter how hard he had thought about it there always seemed to be a small doubt niggling in the back of his mind with his conscience battling against him. In the end he decided just to leave it, forget about everything he had heard that day – he was sure everything would be fine unless something changed but, until then, he would just continue on his everyday life in Camelot, which meant attending a banquet in honour of some visiting royals that evening. 'Ode de joy' Merlin thought – although he was fairly used to them, he still never really felt comfortable attending feasts after being so used to serving at them before - tonight was going to be no different. He quickly finished making a small tonic for a lady from the lower town for her back pain and left Alexa to deliver it. He found it difficult to look at her since talking with Kilgharrah and what he had told him – he had only ever heard of one other child with such a destructive future and that was Mordred who he refused to even begin to compare her with. Alexa was kind and compassionate much like himself and always put others first, Mordred however was the opposite – pure malice and cruelty inside his soul, nothing like her. So it had to be wrong then, it was just another girl called Alexandra he tried to convince himself. But he was already late as it was and quickly changed and raced to the King's chambers.

He burst through the door like had done many times before and received an annoyed look from Arthur. "_Mer_lin," he always seemed to emphasise the first half of his name when Merlin annoyed him, "Do you remember any of the _many_ conversations we had about knocking?" Merlin just rolled his eyes:

"You wanted to see me?"

"Ah yes, I just wanted to ask you something..." Merlin cocked his head to the side,

"What?"

"Well, you know Lord Areil – the children's tutor – well after, I think, maybe 40 years of service to my father and I, has asked me to relieve him of his duties. This means that Ade and Kay now have nobody to educate them and, well, after you started teaching Alexa..."

"You wondered if I could do it." Merlin finished for him

"Yes..." Arthur said, trying to guess what he was thinking and failing before Merlin broke into his usual wide grin.

"Of course! I'd love to! It would be an honour – although Kay doesn't seem to like me that much..."

"He has good taste!" Arthur laughed, receiving a scowl from Merlin before his features softened as he retorted – "I just hope he hasn't inherited being a total prat from you! I'm glad he takes after his mother instead!"

"Hey! I'll have you know that Kay is a lot like me!"

"You're right there – you're both arrogant, supercilious, condescending-"

"_Mer_lin!" he growled, Merlin just smiled in response before Arthur continued "Anyway, we're late and I don't want to be shown up in front of our guests because we arrive 10 minutes late!" He picked up his sword and headed to exit his room when he heard an almighty crash from behind. He turned around only to find Merlin sprawled on the ground along with his freshly-polished armour.

"Are you always such an idiot Merlin?" He asked and in response Merlin tried to hoist himself off the ground but slipped on the armour and fell back on the floor. "Actually, don't answer that."

**#~MERLIN~#**

Alexa arrived back in her room after dropping off the potion for Mrs Bead in the lower town. She owned the bakery with her husband and recently her back'd been giving her jip but of course, Merlin's tonics were renowned for being the best in the kingdom so she doubted that she'd be coming back anytime soon. Over the months she'd been here Alexa had got to know the people of Camelot – many took a shine to her at once like Old Man Peter who always gave her a flower from his stall when she was around but, there were always those who didn't like her very much and just tended to ignore her instead. But at least she had no real enemies (Kay was borderline) unlike her mentor who seemed to have far too many. Before she had told him about her destiny, he had always told her stories about his life in Camelot before she came, like when he defeated Nimueh and Cornelius Sigan and when he and Arthur beat Morgana's skeleton army. She was always fascinated by them – never in her life had she heard such wild tales! But recently he had been a lot more serious and although he didn't know, she had seen him awake many nights in deep thought – sometimes not sleeping at all. She knew what he was thinking though – whether or not to do something about her, like exiling her or even killing her. She wasn't afraid or worried; too much of her life she had spent doing that – she knew this would happen at some point. But then her thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock at the door.

"Come in," she said, snapping out of her daze. Ade walked through in a full length navy silk gown with her hair tied back in a neat bun at the back of her head – all Alexa could do was stare in awe.

"Hey," Ade said; they had become quite good friends over time as they had many things in common, one of which was a deep annoyance bordering on dislike for Kay. Alexa knew she didn't really mean it though – he was her twin after all. "I just came to see when you were coming down to the feast – you're not even ready!"

"What feast?" Alexa replied very confused.

"You know – the feast for the visiting royals? You must have seen them around!"

"Oh... _them_... right – um... well your point is?"

"Why aren't you ready?"

"Well, A) I didn't know about it and B) I wouldn't be going anyway."

"Why not?"

"I don't have anything to wear..." she answered truthfully, her ears turning pink with slight embarrassment.

"There must be _something_," Ade said determinedly and went off to look in the cupboard and drawers "Well... you can borrow one of mine!" She said, realising that there actually wasn't anything suitable for her to wear and Ade yanked her hand and pulled her out of the room and down the corridor.

**#~MERLIN~#**

When the two girls entered the hall, many people looked up and were shocked with what they saw. Most were staring at Ade as they both hastily took their seats, what – with her perfect blonde hair, the exact shade of her father's, with two curls hanging down on either side of her face framing it and not to mention that striking blue dress that was studded with jewels across the rim; it was definitely one of her best dresses. But, some people were shocked at the modest beauty behind her. Flushing red as she saw the people watching, Alexa's black hair flowed over her shoulders with the front two pieces of hair pinned back. She was wearing one of Ade's less spectacular dresses that was just plain crimson red that went straight down and was pinched in at the waist. She had never in her life worn anything of such extravagance but it brought out something that had been lying dormant inside her when she was in her usual trousers and blouse with her hair in a plait over her shoulder – although she it was hidden for most of her time here, she was a natural beauty. Many sons of the nobles in the court were staring at them both – including Kay. He'd seen his sister wearing dresses like that before but he had never seen Alexa like that – to him, she was just the annoying girl with the good comebacks who hated him with a passion and so he stopped gawping and went back to eating.

Merlin was sat by Arthur's side and watched amused as he talked to the visiting king, quite clearly drunk "And so then I told him," he slurred slightly "that's not Lady Bathen!" and they both roared with laughter at the story. Merlin chuckled to himself as he caught side of Gwen rolling her eyes with a small smile tugging on her lips. Arthur was quite funny when he was drunk, especially if he had been drinking with Gwaine – once he had walked into a tavern and seen them both out of their minds singing like sailors – literally. And then he'd have to make something for the hangover from hell that he was going to have in the morning – he always enjoyed waking Arthur on those days by opening the curtains wide and practically shouting 'RISE AND SHINE' at him even though it wasn't strictly speaking his job anymore. Merlin spent the rest of the feast laughing and joining in with the conversation before retiring to his chamber in the early hours of the morning. Little did he know that someone had been watching them.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **Hey everyone! Well here's another chapter, I'm going to try to post every Saturday/Sunday (basically the weekend) because I'm really enjoying writing this and I hope that you enjoy reading it! I was a bit disappointed with the number of reviews last chapter but I'm not one to whine so I won't go on about it but I'm sure that you can do better! Constructive criticism welcome!

**#~MERLIN~#**

Morgana watched the glassy surface of the pool of water carefully as the images flood through fast. Morgause had taught her how to scry before she died and now she was practically an expert with the ability to focus in on a specific location or person – something that had taken years of practice. Right now, that person had been Merlin. She spat his name mentally in her head; the traitorous liar - he had lied since the beginning – to her, to her dear half-brother, to everyone and his betrayal would not be forgotten. No, they had all thought she'd given up after so many failed attempts to gain the crown of Camelot but they were wrong. She had changed instead, realising that she didn't really want Camelot's throne; they would never accept her as their monarch; but what she did want was revenge. The bittersweet taste of revenge on those who had destroyed her life, forced her into exile, who practically drove her into madness for power – and Merlin. Oh how she would enjoy this and she knew exactly how to do it.

**#~MERLIN~#**

A black shadow had been following Alexa all day; creeping in the shadows and lingering like wisps of smoke before disappearing before anybody noticed. It sneaked through the castle, only seen in the corner of your eye, waiting. Waiting for the moment to strike. As nightmares plagued Alexa's dreams that night, it saw its opportunity. It crawled out from the dark to take to the form of a cloaked person where they paused for a moment watching the child writhe under her blankets as images flashed in her mind before moving closer and standing at the bottom of the bed. "_Slæp" _they whispered and with immediate effect, she jolted awake. It took a moment before she realised what was going on but before she could, a quick spell stopped her from screaming aloud. Alexa looked up in terror at the stranger and frantically tried to back away into the bed's headrest while trying to grab something to defend herself but found that her body wouldn't respond, whoever it was had magic and powerful magic at that but what scared her the most was the fact that no-one would hear her scream.

The figure removed their hood to reveal a woman about the same age as Merlin and King Arthur but she had long black hair and very fair skin that would have once been beautiful but now her face was grey and sallow and her eyes sunken in. The eyes – they were probably the most noticeable feature about her face not just because of their bright, piercing green colour but the pure maliciousness and hatred shown deep within them. If looks could kill, she'd have probably been a mass murderer – from all Alexa could tell, with that much hate inside of her; she could be. When the woman looked at her, it felt as though she was staring directly into her soul as she studied her from a short distance. Suddenly, the silence was broken when the intruder spoke, "Hello Alexa." She was shocked at how sweet and soft she had spoken and how this woman knew her name. "Yes, I know who you are." She added, "And who you will be." A deep unease began to stir within Alexa – did she really know? "Angauna – I have a proposition for you," that was all the confirmation she needed, she jerked when she heard her druid name said aloud – she hadn't heard it for so long, but her thoughts were cut short when the woman continued. "Your destiny is to kill Emrys as you well know – that just so happens to be what I crave so dearly. If you join me, you can fulfil your destiny and become one of the most powerful sorceresses of all time with the power to rule over the world. What do you say to it?" she asked before quickly realising that the girl still couldn't speak and quickly muttered the counter spell.

After a couple of coughs and deep breaths, she plucked up the courage to answer - "No." She said simply, trying not to be intimidated by the glares she received in response.

"Think of what you would be turning down – such power that others could only dream of!" the sorceress tempted, "Don't make a decision that you will regret."

"Oh I don't think I'll regret this – _Morgana._" She replied sternly after she suddenly realised who the witch stood in her room was. "I don't want power! I don't want to kill Merlin! I'm not going to – and nothing you can say will change that!" She spat, returning the glares whilst feeling her magic rise up inside of her just in case. To her surprise, Morgana just smiled.

"I thought you'd say that, but don't worry – you will fulfil what you are destined to be. Being a seer can be so useful sometimes. You will be hearing from me soon, young witch and don't go running to your dear _Merlin._ He probably doesn't even want to know you anymore, he probably wishes he'd never even met you – he _hates_ you. We are our destinies Angauna – you'd do well to remember that." And with that, she disappeared from the room leaving a shocked, tearful Alexa alone in the dark.

**#~MERLIN~# **

A new day dawned in Camelot and as the sun slowly crept over the Eastern battlements people began to go about their daily routines. Merlin awoke late like almost every day which usually resulted in Alexa finding an amusing way to get him out of bed – he still hadn't forgotten the frog incident. But today was different: today he awoke to Arthur throwing a bucket of water on his face whilst shouting "You're late you idiot!" and watching as Merlin jumped out of bed and then tumble onto the floor whilst rolling his eyes. "You never seem to change Merlin." He said before quickly leaving the room and continuing about his duties.

After changing into dry clothes, he walked over to the door to his ward's room and stuck his head round to find to his surprise that it was empty. Most days she was awake before he was but almost always made sure he was up before leaving – most of the time just to see what lessons or errands she had to do that day. But today was her first lesson with the others and after that he was going to show her how to expand her magic skills – both of which he was extremely late for. He quickly left the room expecting her to be in the library like the others but she wasn't.

"Hello Ade, Kay," he said greeting them both as he walked in, "Have any of you seen Alexa this morning?"

"No, we thought that she was with you." Ade replied whilst pushing her hair behind her shoulders.

"Hmm – well I'm really late already..."

"We noticed." They both said in unison – it was always scary how well they did that

"...so I'll just have to start without her – I'm sure she'll catch up." Merlin continued before dumping a pile of heavy books on the table which resulted in an identical groan from the twins.

**#~Merlin~#**

By the time the day had dawned in Camelot, she was already far from the castle and quite deep within the forest. When she came to a clearing she finally stopped walking after what must have been hours giving a well deserved rest for her feet and legs which had been protesting for much of the journey but she didn't really notice, she was far too busy with other things right now.

After Morgana's visit last night she had begun to slowly realise that she wouldn't be wanted in Camelot anymore – Morgana was right. Merlin hated her – how could he not? She was who she is – destined to be the destroyer of Albion with the fall of the mighty warlock Emrys. She still was not going to side with Morgana, she would do her best to just lie low and stay away from her true purpose but she hadn't really thought things through. She had left soon after Morgana had gone and hadn't taken anything with her – she had no food, no supplies and she was terribly lost and alone. 'Great.' She thought 'Just... great.' She looked around for any kind of landmark or sign to tell her where she was but found nothing. These woods could be full of bandits and she had nothing to defend herself – apart from her magic. But it was still volatile; still quite untamed and wild – there was no knowing if it would work while she was tired, hungry and scared. She looked up to the sky to try and work out her position from the sun but instead saw something far more interesting – it looked like a dragon was flying towards her. As it drew closer her awe turned to fear as she realised that it actually was a dragon, a small white dragon but nevertheless, it was still a fire-breathing dragon coming at her at great speed. With quite a forceful collision with the ground, the young dragon landed in the clearing before quickly shaking itself down.

"You're Angauna." It said to her simply even though she was still in a state of shock after an actual dragon just landed in front of her. After finding her voice she quickly replied

"Umm, y-yes... but my name is Alexandra – well, Alexa really,"

"Yes, but you're still called Angauna – don't worry though, I don't actually know that much about the whole destiny things yet so all I know is that you're Angauna and you're important. My name is Aithusa by the way."

"O..K... so you are here because...?"

"Well, you're lost aren't you?"

"No, well not _really._.. Umm... yes – yes I am..."

"Then I'm here to help you get back then."

"But – why help me? I mean, why particularly me?"

"I could sense that you needed a bit of help and don't ask why or how but we're connected somehow, like Kilgharrah is to Emrys." She twitched slightly at the mention of his name, "Oh and by the way, I should probably mention that there are bandits just about to attack from over there."

It took a moment before the words sunk in before she turned sharply to face the direction Aithusa was looking just as around six men jumped from the bushes and began charging at them. "Well if you were meant to be helping me get out of here then do something!" she shouted whilst attempting to pick up a large tree branch to defend herself and failing miserably.

"What? Oh right, yeah." The young dragon responded not noticing the eye roll from Alexa behind him. He quickly began flapping his wings whilst hovering just above the ground to make himself look bigger and more dangerous than he actually was – it worked as the bandits just watched in utter fear and terror as the dragon reared up in front of them. Many were cowards and simply dropped what they had and ran whereas some of the braver ones continued on, raising their swords ready to fight but Aithusa just created a fireball in front of them which was enough to make even the most hardy warriors recoil in fear. Alexa laughed as they quickly scampered away as fast as they could from the two while Aithusa did the dragon equivalent of a smug smile before turning back to the young witch.

"Climb on my back – I'll take you to the outskirts of Camelot, I won't go right it; too much gawping. But you should be warned that I am not _that_ strong but I think I'll manage – you are thin as a stick! But hurry, I've got to go back soon otherwise Kilgharrah will bite my head off!" she laughed slightly, hoping that it was actually a joke then doing as the dragon said and clambered on his back before soaring off into the cloudless sky.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Here we go – I hope it's getting more interesting, don't worry the good bit's to come but you'll have to wait! *smiles evilly* Reviews make me happy – simple as. And the more reviews I get, the faster I write (not like I am blackmailing you or anything...) I know that this is really long but it kinda needs to be so enjoy! :D Go one, click the little blue button – you know you want to...

**#~MERLIN~#**

"Merlin." No reply. "_Mer_lin." No reply. "MERLIN!"

"Huh, wha-"

"Glad to finally get a response from you. For a moment I thought you'd fallen asleep in the middle of a COUNCIL MEETING." Merlin quickly looked around and saw everyone in the room staring at him as he remembered that he was actually in the middle of a council meeting and had gone off into a daze half way through. "If Merlin's finished his nap then perhaps we can actually get back to the agenda for today." Merlin just rolled his eyes as everyone turned back towards the King. "As I was saying, we have reports from the lower town that there have been a few cases of an illness recently and last night a man apparently died because of it. I hope this will not be an epidemic but the symptoms are strange and it strikes quickly so we must be prepared. Apparently, the man that died had contracted the disease only a few days before." The last statement caused murmurs to break out across the hall – an illness that could be lethal within days? It could cause havoc and devastation across the kingdom.

"What is strange about the symptoms, sire?" A voice asked from the far side of the hall

"There are the usual common ones like a developing cough and fever but what's strange is a faint mark that appeared on the back of his hand which grew darker over the days." Anticipating the next question, he added "It was a black 'M' that appeared." Arthur's eyes saddened at the thought that everybody in the room was having at that same moment – Morgana. Merlin looked up at his friend and saw the pain and hurt of her betrayal still clear in his mind as he sighed heavily knowing that if Morgana was indeed responsible then it would be bad – very bad. But as soon as Arthur had shown any kind of emotion connected with his half-sister it was gone in a flash with the hard, strong exterior of the great ruler returning as the meeting continued.

"So Merlin, I need you to go down to the lower town and check on those who have the reported cases and you need to see exactly how that man died – bring Alexa if you need any extra help." Merlin twitched slightly at the mention of his missing ward which didn't go unnoticed by the king "This will hopefully just pass but we have to be prepared just in case – Council dismissed."

**#~MERLIN~#**

When Merlin arrived back to his chambers he was relieved to find Alexa sat at the table fully engrossed in one of the books on human anatomy, he never quite understood how she found any of it interesting at all. She didn't notice him as he sneaked quietly through the door but his usual clumsy nature took over and decided that he was going to trip over a mop that he swore wasn't there before. She jerked up from the book startled at the sudden noise before seeing that it was only Merlin and relaxing slightly only to freeze again after she remembered that she had actually been gone for the whole day without telling anyone where she was. She lifted her head with a guilty expression dreading what was going to happen next but instead was surprised when all he did was sit next to her at the table, no anger, no shouting, nothing.

"So..." Merlin said breaking the awkward silence between the two. No-one spoke for a couple more seconds before Alexa suddenly blurted out

"I'm sorry! Really, I am! I didn't mean to, I just... lost track of time and then I got a bit lost and I didn't know where I was going or where Camelot was or anything and I tried to get back after I realised something but then I couldn't and then you weren't here when I came back so I tried to ask Gwen's servant Mary if she'd seen you but then she said that you were in a council meeting with King Arthur and I didn't know what to do and then-"

Merlin smiled and waved a hand to stop her panicked rant. "It's ok, but I was worried – you should have left a note or something. I checked you're room and you were just gone – you shouldn't scare me like that but you're sensible and I knew that you'd probably not gone of that far but still. A bit of warning please next time!" He chuckled, a small smile appeared on her lips "And Ade and Kay – well maybe not Kay as much – were worried about you too. Oh and because you missed your lesson you'll have to catch up so" he dumped a pile of old looking heavy books in front of her "here!" She groaned and coughed at the same time due to the amount of dust they had just created.

"Where did you go?" He asked casually whilst going to the bookshelf to research the new illness.

"Well... um... out?" Alexa mumbled feebly to which he gave her a 'is that the best you can do' look

"Where?"

"The forest?"

"What were you doing in the forest? You know it's dangerous there, bandits round every corner if you go past the southern path! Thank God you didn't..." Her eyes widened as she hastily shoved her head back into the book she was reading.

"Oh Alexa! People have died there – good, careful, _armed_ people! How could you have been so stupid – you know not to go past there! Just be thankful you didn't run into any bandits and _don't do it again." _He sighed and sat back down again "What would have happened if you had got hurt - nobody knew where you were. Imagine what would have happened if we had lost you; think of how many would be hurt." He turned to look at her straight in the eye "Promise me you won't do anything stupid like that again."

"I promise." She promised honestly but for some reason she doubted that she could keep it.

**#~MERLIN~#**

**Day 1**

In the lower town Merlin had set about his work which meant checking on those who had supposedly contracted the illness. His first stop was to Mrs Coulter, the wife of the flower shop owner who had shown symptoms of a cough and a light fever the night before. He knocked gently at the door of their small house and waited for someone to answer. After a couple of minutes a young boy opened the door chewing at his sleeve – he couldn't have been over 4 years old and he had rough, dark brown hair that only barely allowed him to see underneath.

"Hi, I'm Merlin the physician – I've come to see your mummy, can I come in?" Merlin asked kindly bending down to the child's level, the little boy nodded his head slowly still chewing on his sleeve and led him into the house. He disappeared behind a screen before reappearing and beckoning Merlin to follow him through. The little boy ran over to his father who was sat by the bedside of his wife and promptly sat on his lap with his arms around his neck.

"Hello Mr Coulter, I'm the physician that you called for last night so can I just check on your wife and make sure she's ok?"

"Right, yes." He replied quietly moving back to allow Merlin passed but not letting go of her hand. She looked quite sick and her skin was sallow and grey but her cheeks were tinged with a fever and she was covered in a thin layer of sweat. Suddenly she began coughing harshly and painfully into a piece of cloth her husband had passed to her but Merlin was shocked when he saw flecks of blood on it and quickly set about checking all of her vital signs. Her pulse wasn't as strong as he'd have liked and her breathing was quite shallow in between coughs but what had worried Merlin the most was the dark bruise like mark on her hand in the shape of an M.

"When did this first appear?" He asked

"I'm not sure – a few days ago I think..." Replied Mr Coulter before he turned back o his ailing wife and began stroking her hair.

"I'm going to give her a very powerful tonic now because I don't think that anything else will work. Her breathing should improve almost immediately and she should get a bit more colour in her skin but I have to warn you – it is going to taste disgusting so I'll need your help administrating it. The other man just nodded and helped lift her head off from the bed so she could swallow the disgusting contents of the vial in Merlin's hand. They waited a couple of seconds and Merlin began to frown when nothing happened. He tried a healing spell next even though he wasn't very good at them it was still worth a try – nothing happened. He tried again and again but after many failed attempts he gave Mr Coulter a few vials of a bluish coloured liquid that she was to take everyday to get rid of the fever and hopefully cure her but Merlin wasn't too sure – no illness he'd come across had ever resisted as many treatments but he had to hope and so with more cases to see, he left the family alone in the small house.

**Day 2**

More cases had appeared in the lower city with one in the upper town. Still, none of Merlin's treatments were working and a young boy had succumbed to his condition during the night. Mrs Coulter made no improvement and Merlin began to panic because nothing seemed to be working but he went around to everyone who was ill to try and help but nothing made even the slightest improvement. They all had the same symptoms – a painful, racking cough and a fever but most of all the black mark on the backs of their hands. The total number of people infected now had gone up to 8.

**Day 3**

Even more people were getting sick now and it had now claimed two more lives – the man with the first case from the upper town and Mrs Coulter. People were beginning to get scared but Merlin tried his best to reassure them by saying that it would simply pass but he doubted that it ever would. He now began looking into the cause of this disease, knowing now that it wasn't some normal sickness he was looking up magical means but still nothing seemed to fit the description of it. He was going to have to tell Arthur. He had found him easily enough in his chambers happily eating away at his massive lunch – some things never changed.

"You'd want to slow down or you're going to have to put another hole in your belt!" Merlin joked walking into the room.

"I am perfectly fit thank you very much, Merlin!" He said after taking another bite from his chicken drumstick.

"If you say so – but you've got to admit that the chainmail's starting to get a bit tight..."

"_Mer_lin! What was it that you wanted to talk about anyway?"

"The illness from a couple of days ago has become more widespread and more have died – I fear that this is an epidemic Arthur. We need to start making emergency plans in case the worst happens. We may need to set up an infirmary for all of those who are sick and try and stop it from spreading."

"Haven't you been able to find a cure?" Arthur asked confused

"No, nothing is working – not even magic." He said sadly, maybe if he was better at healing spells he could stop it and stop those innocent people from dying. Arthur frowned and stood up drinking his wine whilst moving to look out of the window.

"Well, keep trying and I agree – we should start making plans."

"If that's all sire..." Merlin said before turning to leave

"No Merlin, wait," He froze and turned around "Something's been upsetting you, I can tell. Don't try and deny it or come up with an excuse – come on, talk."

Merlin sighed and decided not to protest knowing it would get him nowhere. "It... It's Alexa. I'm not sure what to do, I mean I didn't really believe it but after I talked to Kilgharrah..."

"Whoa – slow down! What didn't you believe?"

"Ok, well don't take this the wrong way or anything, I'm sure that it's not true and that it can change – she doesn't want to do anything wrong, I'm sure of it but it's just been on my mind ever since..."

"Merlin. Ever since what?"

"Ever since she told me that it... it was her destiny to, well, kill me." Arthur almost choked on his wine and instead spat it out onto the floor.

"WHAT?"

"Don't get mad Arthur! She wouldn't do it! I know she wouldn't! But it's just that Kilgharrah told me to stay away because apparently she's my doom and so now I don't know what to think! I love her like the daughter I never had but I just don't know what to do. Is she really capable of that?"

"Merlin – if this is true then she's dangerous. Stay away from her – I don't care how but just do. If I have to banish her then so be it but she will fulfil it because you are your destiny so just please, stay away. I know you care about her but that's blinding you to what she could do – just like Mor-... Just like I didn't realise about Morgana." Merlin shook his head angrily

"No, she's nothing like her! Maybe I can stop it from happening! The future's not set in stone! Alexa is _nothing_ like Morgana! Don't even think about banishing her – she has done nothing wrong! You'd destroy her life because of something she was born into, just like I was to magic – you'd be persecuting someone for being born! Just like Uther." And with that Merlin stormed out, leaving behind a very shocked Arthur.

**Day 4**

The death toll had risen to 20 with the number of people with the illness at 43 and rising. No-one had ever seen anything like it before and now it had spread to the upper city as well. It was affecting everyone – young, old, strong, weak, men and women. Nothing could stop it.

Alexa waited patiently for Merlin to return – it was well past midnight and he still wasn't back. She knew there was an illness but she didn't know much else apart from the fact that it was spreading rapidly. A guilty feeling started to rise up her throat – people had said that a black M appeared on those who were sick; M for Morgana – she was sure. Was this somehow connected to her and their meeting the other night? She hoped not but she couldn't rule out the possibility. Around ten minutes later she heard quick footsteps and saw someone fly through the door – it was Merlin but he looked panicked and worried.

"Grab that book on the table and take as many of the tonics that I made on the table! Quick!" Merlin said whilst also taking a handful of potions and herbs and rushing back out of the door. She did as she was told and quickly ran after him down the corridor.

"What's wrong?" she asked, growing increasingly worried as she realised where they were headed

"It's Kay." He replied running into the young prince's bedroom. Ade, Gwen and Arthur were already there by his bedside. He was just lying there sickly looking and weak while his mother and sister cried by his side. Merlin rushed over and began preparing many different herbs and potions, she wasn't certain but she was sure that Arthur had been giving her evil glares the whole time

**#~MERLIN~#**

When she arrived back in her room a few hours after Merlin had come flying in she sat quietly on her bed whilst her brain tried to comprehend what had just happened – her best friend's twin and mentor's god child had just contracted a fatal illness with no cure. She wasn't sure how to feel and everything seemed so complicated, the cold draft coming through the window didn't help matters. Wait. The window wasn't open. She quickly stood up from the bed and looked around in fear when suddenly Morgana Pendragon appeared in front of her.

"What do you want?" she spat, Morgana just laughed slightly

"I would have thought that it would be obvious," she smirked

"You caused the illness didn't you!"

"Oh well done! Give the girl a prize!"

"Why? Why did you do it? Innocents are dying!"

"No one who lives under a Pendragon is innocent. And I did it because of you. You're causing this little Alexa – you."

"No! I- I wouldn't!"

"By not doing as I said and killing that traitor like your destiny says – you made me take drastic measures. However, I will stop it if you change your mind."

"No – I've told you before and I'll say it again the answer is NO!"

"Well, I'll just leave it to destroy this Camelot by wiping out all those without magic then I'll start again. Rebuild it from scratch after you watch everyone you cared about die – starting with young Kay Pendragon. Do you want him to die because you are too selfish? Do you want the women and children to die in pain and agony because you aren't doing the one thing you were born to do? Well, if that's your final answer – goodbye!"

"Wait!" Alexa shouted "Wait." She said quieter regretting her decision already "I'll do it."


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Arrrgh! This is so annoying – when I had almost finished writing this chapter my computer went crazy and said the file was corrupted so I had to rewrite from scratch again! Sorry for the wait but to make up for it, I'll have the next chapter up in double quick time! In this chapter 'The lady of the lake' didn't happen Hope that you enjoy – remember to review please!

_Previously_

"_Wait!" Alexa shouted "Wait." She said quieter, already regretting her decision "I'll do it."_

"Clever girl" replied Morgana "You'll learn to know that it is best to not go against me Angauna. You will bring him to my newly acquired abode by tomorrow night and do the deed there. Don't worry, you'll know where to go when you need to and don't even think about doing anything sneaky – I am a seer, remember?" she smirked

"How do I know that you will remove the curse afterwards? I don't trust you.." Morgana's eyes narrowed.

"I am a woman of my word; it may surprise you to know. Just because I no longer have anyone to be loyal to does not mean that I have no sense of loyalty."

"You betrayed everyone close to you all of those years ago, I don't believe you!" Morgana fixed her a glare that would make any man back down but Alexa stayed strong.

"Fine, to prove that I am sincere in what I will do I will freeze most of the curse... But – your little Prince friend will stay ill. Nobody else will get sick or die – well, apart from the Prince of Camelot. I'm sure you wouldn't want my young nephew's blood on your hands now, would you?" She smirked again; oh how Alexa was really beginning to hate that smirk "Don't do as I say and I'll make sure that every non-magic man, woman and child will die because of you. However if you do, I will remove it from the vessel" she added.

"What vessel?"

"Now where would be all of the fun if I told you?"

"But-"

"I'll be waiting Angauna."

**#~MERLIN~#**

Morning seemed to come too early for everybody that day, including the most powerful warlock of all time. Merlin groggily awoke from his slumber in the library and forced himself up from the surprising comfortable table into a sitting position before remembering why he was there in the first place. Inwardly he groaned, the sickness. The illness that had been mercilessly striking down people from all around the kingdom, it would only take a few more days to force Camelot to its knees. It was like nothing he, or any of the authors that had written the books he was looking at it seemed, had ever seen before and nothing would stop it – not even his magic. And now the Prince was ill; another large blow. Kay's nursemaid, Jennet, had rushed to find him the day before when he had started to show symptoms and soon had become bedridden but there was nothing that he could do. It broke his heart to watch the usually lively and active child so weak and sickly and to watch his friends cry by his bedside.

Well, all except Arthur.

He just stood watching from the doorway and although pain and sorrow was shown in his face, but something was wrong. He seemed distant and didn't speak, didn't cry and, after their argument the day before, had not spoken a word to him. If anything, he looked angry – but angry at what? Morgana, who everyone suspected caused the disease? Himself, for what he said yesterday? But none of them seemed to really fit properly – he usually became unemotional and expressionless at the mention of Morgana and Merlin doubted that he could really be that angry at him for what he said so – who? He shook all of these thoughts away because there were more pressing matters now like checking up on the Prince. None of the books seemed to be of any help after hours of research into the night so he replaced them back on the shelves and headed out towards the royal chambers.

Upon arriving at the boy's room he found Gwen and Ade asleep around the bed with no sign of Arthur at all. Jennet was carefully placing a cool cloth on his forehead in an attempt to subdue the fever although if this was indeed the same illness, it would have little effect.

"I thought it best not to wake them, it has been a long night for everyone." Jennet told him as he approached Kay and Merlin nodded in agreement. Kay was much the same as he was yesterday but his breathing had become a bit shallower meaning that with the progression of the other symptoms also, he only had a day or two to live. He found it difficult to look at the boy because of the pain that it would cause him – although they had never been very close he had grown fond of the boy and had all the makings of a great King – if a little supercilious and overbearing at times. He would not stand and watch his friends grieve such a loss – he needed to find a cure.

**#~MERLIN~#**

Alexa had stayed awake for the rest of the night after returning to her room. Morgana's visit had just made everything so complicated and she couldn't comprehend what she had just gotten herself into. She had just agreed to kill Merlin. After telling herself for years that she was never going to become a murderer, she now had to do it by that night or be the cause of the Prince's death. Ade had become her best friend over the time she had been here and she couldn't stand to watch her grieve so like she had last night. But what would she do if she found out that she had killed Merlin in. If the deed itself wasn't enough, seeing the contempt and hatred in her eyes would surely break her completely. Then she realised something – this was what Merlin had gone through when Arthur didn't know. The years before he revealed his magic Merlin must have gone through the same thing, imagining what it would be like for someone who was so close to you, to hate you in an instant. To think of the worst and how it would be when it happened. But Merlin had a choice when and how to reveal himself and his magic. She didn't. She forced herself to stop thinking about what could happen and instead decided to just let it happen when it happens and stop speculating. She pushed open the door to the main chambers and was greeted by a shocking sight. Standing in front of her was the King of Camelot Arthur Pendragon himself.

"I- I don't think that Merlin is here, sire, if you wished to find him" she stuttered in surprise

"No Alexandra," she was shocked by the use of her full name, nobody ever usually used it "I came to see you. Now, I had a conversation with Merlin yesterday – you know Merlin, the kind hearted man who took you in when you first arrived here in my Kingdom? Well, the funny thing is that he was under the impression that it was your destiny to kill him" There was no humour in his voice at all "He doesn't believe that you would ever be capable of doing such a thing but that is what I thought about an old friend of mine. You have probably heard of Morgana – I never believed that she would betray me because I was too blinded by emotion to see who she really was. I am not going to let Merlin make that mistake. The only reason why you are not banished at least is because Merlin would never forgive me because of an attachment he has to you but I swear, one wrong move and I will not be responsible for my actions. My son is dying right now and somehow it is because of you. I saw the guilty look on your face yesterday and I've dealt with traitorous little witches like you in the past – but why would Morgana suddenly choose to strike now, after so many years? Something must have changed – something like you. You have probably been working together to bring down Camelot for months but I will not let this happen. Cure my son or enjoy the last day you will ever see." And with that he stormed out of the room, leaving Alexa sobbing on the floor.

_He was right,_ she thought. The truth of the words had cut through her like knives and she realised just what she had done. But now, she was left with an impossible choice.

**#~MERLIN~#**

After leaving Kay with his family, Merlin headed back to his chambers for a final burst of inspiration. Maybe there was something that he missed? Something that was so obvious that it was easily overlooked? He doubted it but he was desperate now. Thankfully, there were no new cases as of yet and everyone who was already ill seemed to have just stopped deteriorating – everyone apart from Kay. He just continued to go downhill as the seconds went by whilst everyone else seemed to have stopped – something wasn't right but he didn't have time to find out what.

He opened the door and stepped through into the room and was unsurprised to find Alexa missing again. The past couple of days she had seemed distant and kept herself to herself and so he didn't think much of it. He grabbed his oldest magic book, the one Gaius had given him on that very first day, and began reading. There had to be a vessel, he had discovered, for such a widespread disease but it could be anything and it was well masked by Morgana whatever it was because he couldn't detect it no matter how hard he tried to. It would be useless to try and actually find Morgana herself, she could be weeks away, but he had tried everything he possibly could. If only Gaius were there to help him and tell him what he should do, maybe he could stop her before she destroyed everything.

"Merlin," a small voice from the antechamber said. He looked up to see Alexa standing there, watching with a solemn expression. "How's Kay?" she asked.

"Not good, not good at all...I'm sorry" he responded, she sighed deeply before looking up to meet his eyes, she seemed to take a moment to ready herself for something

"I can help..." she began.

"No, it's too far now and there is no cure, he's going – we can't do anything more..."

"No, no I mean there is something that you haven't tried yet. When I was... um... with the druids... there was this herb? It was magical with healing properties and I don't think that you've ever heard of it before."

"Do you think that it would be able to help? What is it called?" his eyes lit up in hope.

"Well, yes – yes it would. And it is called..." she looked around for possible inspiration "Bottle... flame... Yes, it's called Bottle Flame - because... it glows in the dark?

"I've never heard of it."

"That's because it works so well the druids kept it secret."

"Why didn't you say anything before? Where can we get it?"

"I only just remembered and we'd have to pick it from the forest but it's quite far away so we'd need horses to get there in time, I could show you…"

"We need to leave immediately then, I'll go and get the horses," He rushed out of the room so quickly he did not see the guilty look on her face as she buried her face in her hands.

They rode out of the citadel with great speed on the back of two of the fastest horses in the Kingdom and soon found themselves in the thick depths of the forest just as the sun began to set above the hills. The deep oranges and reds filtered between the branches of the trees above to create what would have been a scene of extreme beauty had both of the riders not been preoccupied in their own thoughts. At first Alexa didn't know what Morgana meant about knowing where to go when she needed to but soon the horse began to go on its own and so all she needed to do was to pretend that she knew where she was going. Neither had said much during the journey but after around an hour Merlin had begun to question whether this was just a wild goose chase. They didn't seem to be going anywhere in particular and he had never travelled across this area before and had begun to get a bit edgy when the light began to leave. Soon a strange castle could be seen in the distance and if Merlin didn't know better, he'd say that they were heading right for it and he still hadn't seen any of the glow in the dark 'bottle flame'.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" he asked.

"I'm so sorry," she replied and then there was only darkness.

**#~MERLIN~#**

After Arthur had left Alexa, he had returned to be with his son. Merlin had said that he only had a day or two left and he wanted to spend as much time as possible with him although the reality of the situation hadn't quite sunk in yet. His children were his pride and joy and to watch something like an illness strike down his son who should die fighting and in battle created such pain when he had not been able to say goodbye whilst he was conscious. Gwen had not left either but what really made his heart break was watching Ade. She was just staring into the distance at the window with tear stained cheeks, she was losing her twin – herself. She had been silent for days when they had first found out and now it seemed that it had all been too much for her to cope with. He walked over to stand behind her and put a hand on her shoulder but she didn't seem to notice and just kept looking at nothing in particular. He looked out as well just in time to see two riders leave the courtyard, one of which was Merlin and the other was Alexa. His heart rate quickened as anger took its place – he had warned her that he would not be responsible for his actions – _what was she doing? Why would he be leaving at this time of night?_ _What was she going to do to Merlin?_

Ten minutes later, three more riders set off into the night.

When Merlin awoke he found himself in an unfamiliar place. The walls were old and partially ruined but the room he was in was very large and looked very similar to the throne room of the palace in Camelot although it was bigger with a balcony. As the blurriness in his eyes slowly left he noticed the two figures stood above him, two women to be precise – one was definitely Alexa and the other was Morgana.

"Oh look, the traitor is awake." Morgana said. Alexa was looking away with sadness and guilt clearly visible on her face.

"What do you want Morgana?" he demanded when he finally gained the ability to speak again

"Oh, I don't want anything, I'm here to watch what little Angauna here is going to do for me," she said sweetly, her tongue dripping with malice.

"Alexa? What..." he asked confused but was cut off by Morgana

"I'll leave you two to have a little catch up time whilst I go and get a better view" she smiled wickedly and disappeared through a side door.

"Alexa what are you doing? Why are we here? What happened?" he practically shouted.

"I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry! I didn't mean to but then she said she'd kill everyone if I didn't!"

"Didn't what...?"

"If I didn't kill you..." she whispered, looking down at the floor.

"What?"

"I-I..." she began but just hung her head in shame.

"Right, explanation later – we have to go now!" he said hastily attempting to get up off the floor and failing.

"NO!" she shouted, taking Merlin totally by surprise.

"What are you doing? This is Morgana we are talking about!"

"I know, but I can't let you leave... I have to do this" she replied. "You can't leave anyway, the spell I put on you that knocked you out means that you won't be able to walk or move properly for a couple of hours..." Merlin sank back to the floor in shock and betrayal, his mind trying to comprehend what had just happened.

"Did I miss much?" Morgana asked from the balcony, smirking "You can do it in your own time, but if possible make it as slow as possible – I want him to suffer..." She sat back into an extravagant throne that would put Camelot's to shame.

Alexa turned back away from Morgana to face Merlin so that her back was to her and picked up a jewelled dagger from the floor. She looked Merlin in the eyes before whispering "Ic i ádumbe"

"Ok, now we can talk" she said relieved after letting out a deep breath

"What do you mean?" he spat

"I put up a mute spell, she won't be able to hear us"

"Why would you do that? You're on the same side, Arthur was right." He looked back up at her again with a fierce look of betrayal in his eyes "I TRUSTED YOU! WHY DID YOU DO THIS? DID YOU AND HER CAUSE THIS ILLNESS? PEOPLE HAVE DIED! EVERYTHING THAT YOU HAVE SAID IS A LIE!" he shouted.

"No! I would never-"

"WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE THEN, HM? I REALLY THOUGHT THAT YOU WERE GOOD! WHEN I TOOK YOU IN I THOUGHT THAT WAS DOING THE RIGHT THING BY HELPING SOMEONE WHO NEEDED IT BUT NOW I SEE THAT YOU HAVE JUST BEEN WORKING AGAINST ME THE WHOLE TIME! I LOVED YOU LIKE THE DAUGHTER I NEVER HAD AND WHAT DO YOU DO? GO AND SIDE WITH MORGANA, KIDNAP ME AND YOU ARE NOW GOING TO KILL ME! I NEVER EXPECTED THIS BETRAYAL FROM YOU, EVEN AFTER I FOUND OUT ABOUT THAT PROPHECY! I SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO KILGHARRAH! WHY DID YOU EVEN COME DO CAMELOT IN THE FIRST PLACE?" he shouted at her, anger, frustration and hurt clear in his face.

"TO FIND MY FATHER!"

"WELL, YOU DIDN'T SEEM TO DO MUCH LOOKING TO ME!"

"THAT'S BECAUSE I HAVE ALREADY FOUND HIM!"

"OH REALLY? GO ON THEN, WHO IS IT?"

"YOU!" she screamed back "You." She sobbed. Merlin's eyes opened in shock and realisation.

_**Flashback – 14 years ago...**_

_Freya walked across the Druid camp to where Merlin was preparing his horse for leaving and coughed slightly to get his attention._

"_Freya! I was just about to come and say goodbye before I leave," he said, with sadness in his eyes as he looked at her._

"_Well, I guess I beat you to it then," she said as she smiled at him,_

"_You could come with me you know – back to Camelot, you don't have to stay..." he murmured pushing a piece of hair behind her ear_

"_I do and you know it Merlin! Your place is by King Arthur's side without me getting in the way. And besides, my life is here at the Druid camp, I wouldn't want to leave it behind." She replied, eyes glinting with tears as she stared into his magical blue eyes. He had arrived at the camp two months ago by order of the King to try and create a peace treaty with the druids after Uther died and magic became accepted in the kingdom. It was love at first sight for Freya and Merlin but he had a lump at the bottom of his throat as he knew it could not last – he was to leave to go back to Camelot now the treaty had been taken care of, meaning that he had to leave Freya behind._

"_I'll never forget you. I love you." He said before giving her a passionate kiss and mounting his horse and riding away into the horizon, not trusting himself to not return if he dared look back..._

_END FLASHBACK_

"I-I... You're my daughter?" he asked, the anger and betrayal being forgotten as he looked at her and wondered why he never saw it before. She had his raven black hair and blue eyes but her mother's face – how could he have missed it? She nodded her head in confirmation

"But I'm not actually going to kill you!"

"Huh?" he asked

"I have a plan... but so far you've been doing a great job at looking hurt so carry on doing it – Morgana can see you but not me. To her, it looks like I'm just saying things to hurt you and this room is so massive she probably thinks that she just can't hear us but I've got to do something soon or she'll get suspicious. Do as I say."

"Ok... so you're not actually going to kill me?"

"No!

"Right, that's fine – just needed to check..."

"On the count of three we both need to suddenly attack Morgana, she won't be able to fight us both if we work together. Close your eyes so it looks like you're expecting the death blow but you need to just collect enough magic for a massive burst to catch her off guard." He nodded in agreement.

"One" She placed both hands on the hilt.

"Two" She raised the dagger above her head.

"Three"

To Morgana, it looked like Alexa was putting salt in the wounds. Merlin was going mad below her which just made her smile to watch what it felt like for him to feel that betrayal. He had closed his eyes waiting for the end.

To Arthur, after tracking them both through the forest with Sir Gwaine and Sir Leon to an abandoned castle, everything pointed to the worst. He flung open the door to see Merlin lying on the floor with his eyes shut and Alexa with a dagger above her head.

Merlin couldn't see because he had closed his eyes.

Alexa never heard because of the mute spell.

Morgana both heard and saw when Arthur Pendragon burst into the hall and screamed Merlin's name.

Then next thing Alexa heard was a scream, before realising that it was her.

The next thing that Merlin saw was his daughter fall to the ground, Excalibur plunged through her chest.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Voila! Here is another chapter for your enjoyment! I felt bad about the cliff-hanger last week because you had to wait until now for the next bit so I decided to use another one this week :) I am so evil XD Please review because I like knowing what you think so far about the story and how it's progressing or about what you think of the characters. If you have any ideas I am happy for them too! Thanks to those who reviewed last time but enough about this – on with the chapter!**

**Dear Disclaimer,**

**Please stop reminding me that I don't own the amazing BBC show Merlin, you just make me sad and annoyed,**

**Lots of love,**

**EVERY MERLIN FANFICTION AUTHOR **

_Previously_

_His daughter fell to the ground, Excalibur plunged through her chest._

Everything seemed to stop that second; the world went into slow motion when he opened his eyes. Nothing else mattered from that moment on as he went white with shock, blood draining from his face as she fell like a doll onto the hard stone floor. A few seconds seemed like a lifetime when his eyes locked with hers as she slipped to the ground, they were full of fear and shock that seemed to plea for help. He looked up to see her attacker and saw Arthur standing behind, eyes wide in realisation.

"What have you done?" Merlin whispered hoarsely, locking his eyes with Arthur's "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?" he shouted at him

"Merlin, I-I..." Arthur tried but no more words came out but it didn't matter anyway because Merlin was too busy trying to help the fallen girl whose lifeblood was slowly seeping away through the wound in her chest. Arthur was in such a daze that he was not taking much in and so barely noticed when Gwaine and Leon rushed to her aid also. Merlin was shaking and his face was drained of colour, genuine fear and care shown on his face – but why would someone feel that way about someone who had just tried to kill them?

"We..." Merlin tried but had to take another deep breath before he could carry on "We need to remove the sword so I can see the damage."

"Just tell us what you need us to do." Gwaine said sombrely

"I... um... I need," he gulped "I need you to help me turn her on her side and then hold her still, it's going to be painful..."

Silently the knights did as they were told and helped turn Alexa on her side; weak gasps of pain escaped her lips as she winced with the movement. Two sets of strong hands held her firmly but nothing could have prepared anyone in the room for what was about to happen. Merlin grasped the end of the sword with shaking hands and took a deep breath before quickly and steadily attempting to pull it out. Screams of immense pain filled the air around them and she jerked violently against her restraints in an attempt to alleviate the horrific pain that she was going through. She screamed and shouted for the half a minute that it took to remove the weapon but that was enough to traumatise everyone present and by the end Merlin looked like he was physically going to be sick. As soon as it was out the screams subsided and she fell limply into the arms of the knights – she just looked like a ragdoll.

Merlin wasted no time and quickly began to examine her delicately but even the slightest touch caused visible signs of extreme pain on the poor girl. He had to look away in the end when he looked at his hands and they were covered in blood – her blood, his daughter's blood. This wasn't meant to happen, none of it was and now she was dying on the floor of an unfamiliar castle far from home where everyone believed that she was a traitor. He wanted to scream, to shout and get rid of the anger building up inside him but that wouldn't be helping Alexa and she needed all the help that she could get.

He took one more steady breath before motioning to Gwaine and Leon to put her down and quickly positioned his hands over the injury. "Hælbære séo bealubenn" he spoke in the old tongue, his eyes flashed gold momentarily but nothing seemed to have happened. "Hælbære séo bealubenn" he tried again pulling all of the magic that he could and forcing it to what he wanted – still nothing. He was beginning to panic now – "Ic i ágíeme feorhsweng" he shouted "Hælu blóddolh!"Each time he felt the magic leave him but nothing was happening – there was no hope for a wound this lethal without magic. He lowered his hands to his sides in failure.

"Merlin?" Gwaine asked quietly

"I can't do it. Nothing is working. She-"he lowered his head "She's going to die."

Sharp intakes of breath were heard coming from the two knights but Merlin wasn't really listening. He just looked down at her pale, ghost like complexion and thought about how he had failed her – as her physician, her friend and her father.

"Isn't there anything that you can do?" Asked Leon, speaking for the first time since all of this happened

"The best thing right now is to get her back to Camelot but she won't make it in the state she's in – I need some bandages and some of the herbs in my bag. We need to stop the bleeding or she won't make the journey."

Leon jumped to his feet and ran outside to the horses to get Merlin's bag whilst Gwaine ripped his cape into makeshift bandages and handed them to his friend – total seriousness on the usually fun loving knight's face. Leon returned in great speed and handed him the bag where Merlin took out some yarrow to help with stemming the bleed but there was too much lost already. He felt her pulse and found it weaker than before and immediately sped up his efforts. He attempted to sterilise it with some water and an antiseptic potion that he kept with him always before tightly wrapping the bandages around her weak body.  
>"Right, we need to leave now if she has any chance" he said, his throat hoarse with emotion. He attempted to stand but failed and then remembered the spell that she had used and groaned. Leon came to his aid and helped him to his feet whilst Gwaine slowly lifted the girl from the floor and carried her out into the forest, making sure to give Arthur a look of pure hatred and resentment.<p>

After all that had gone on, Arthur had watched like a shadow or a ghost just watching as his friends worked to save Alexa in front of him. He couldn't speak because of the guilt as he watched her lifeless body fall to the ground because of his actions, his mistake. But something didn't make sense – why did he care so much for a traitor like her? The look in his eyes when they had first met was filled with so much anguish, shock and pain that it made him surprised. That was the look only a parent has when something happens to their... child. _Oh no. Oh God no. _He thought but then it hit him – it was so obvious now. Why didn't he notice it before? The way they talked and spoke to each other from the first moment that they met, the way that Merlin looked at her affectionately like he did to Kay and Ade, her smile – an exact replica or Merlin's cheeky grin, their hair was the same raven black but what really made the connection was Alexa's eyes. He'd never thought about it before but now it was so clear – they had the same eyes. Deep, mysterious blue eyes full of magic and wonder that were so unique and different that he had only ever seen one person's like that before – Merlin. But what had he done? He had just run through Merlin's own daughter right in front of him and now she was condemned to death because of his actions. He regretted everything and Merlin was never going to forgive him. He tried to imagine what it would be like for him if any of his children were hurt like that in front of him but it was impossible to imagine. He could hear them saddling up the horses outside and soon after he heard three horses gallop into the distance leaving him alone with his thoughts. He saw Excalibur lying on the floor and went over to pick up his sword. Dried blood coated the blade, a sick feeling rose from the pit of his stomach, it served as a reminder to the worst mistake he had ever made. He sheathed it back into its scabbard and turned to leave the empty room.

Little did anyone know that it wasn't empty. Everyone seemed to have forgotten about Morgana who was still sat in her throne in the balcony, watching as the events unfolded below. At first she was shocked like everyone else because she had not expected her brother to suddenly arrive and stab the young witch but that soon turned to anger – she had not been able to complete the task of killing her worst enemy and she was about to intervene herself when she stopped. Merlin, it made her mentally spit to say his name, looked distraught when she was struck down – why? She was a second away from killing him, why show any concern for your future killer at all? But this had unforeseen repercussions – all of which would be beneficial. If Merlin cared about the girl and she died then he would be angry at her murderer; Arthur Pendragon. How could he continue to protect a Kingdom ruled by the man who killed someone he obviously cared about? If she didn't know any better she could have easily been his daughter with the reaction that he had. No-one else would be so worried even after what she was about to do – but he couldn't be, could he?

**#~MERLIN~#**

Forty-five minutes later the three men arrived back in Camelot and wasted no time in getting Alexa to his physician's quarters. Most of the effects of the spell had worn off now so Merlin was able to walk unaided again and quickly ran ahead to get ready before they brought Alexa but before he was able to reach his quarters he promptly collided with Gwen in the corridor.

"Merlin!" She exclaimed with a warm smile that slowly faded when she saw the sombre look on his face "What's wrong?" she asked

"No time" he said already back running down the corridor. Surprised at his abrupt behaviour she followed him back to his chambers where he was using his arm to sweep everything off the main table – books, potions and all.

"Merlin, what are you doing?" she questioned puzzled

"No time to explain. I need fresh water and blankets – can you get them?"

"Of course but wh-"

"Now!" he practically shouted, looking up she saw the hurt and worry in his eyes and did what she was told and hurried out of the room.

A few seconds later Leon and Gwaine arrived carrying her carefully and placed her gently on the bench. The bandages he was used earlier had only helped a little with the wound already bleeding through them. He removed them carefully but even that was enough to make her moan in agony and it was not a surprise to anyone. The sword had run her right through, so much so that there was a small hole right through her body and although it had missed any vital organs a wound like that could easily be fatal. He poured a foul smelling liquid all over the injury much to the distress of the patient who began to convulse violently, so much so that it took all three of them to hold her down. A badly timed arrival of Gwen meant that she appeared whilst Alexa was convulsing in agony and she soon felt faint and had to sit down for a moment.

Once Alexa had calmed slightly Merlin was able to lift her head and force her to drink a thick brown liquid that looked absolutely vile but would help her with the pain. He continued by sterilised a needle in the flame of a candle nearby and began to set about work stitching the wound by hand whilst Gwaine paced behind him. Now he knew why Gaius hated it when he used to do that whilst he was trying to work. Once the wound was closed, cleansed and bandaged back up again the tense atmosphere began to dissipate now that the most important and dangerous stage was over. It was all down to Alexa now although the odds of her survival were extremely low. Leon and Gwaine left to leave Merlin and Gwen alone after her subtle motions for them both to leave once he had finished operating. Merlin hung his head in his hands after making Alexa more comfortable by moving her to her own bed. Gwen walked over and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and reassured him that everything would be alright although he knew that it was not true.

"What happened, Merlin?" she asked softly. He shook his head

"It's all my fault." He replied quietly "I should have seen him and stopped it."

"Seen who coming?" He lifted his head from his hands and met her eyes with a look of pure anger and betrayal

"Arthur." He spat

**#~MERLIN~#**

Gwaine burst through the doors to the throne room with determination written across his face. He unsheathed his sword and walked over to the lone King before throwing his gauntlet on the floor.

"Pick. It. Up." He said through gritted teeth

"Gwaine? What-"Arthur tried

"I said – Pick it up. If you choose not to defend yourself that's fine by me." He said viciously, meaning every single word.

"What are you doing?" He boomed in response

"What am I doing?" Gwaine laughed "Do you know what you've done? What you've done to that innocent girl?"

"If this is about Alexa-" he began

"Of course this is about Alexa!" he shouted "You really don't understand what you've done do you? You didn't really hear it when she screamed in agony when Merlin had to pull the sword out. You didn't feel the pain that she went through when that sword ripped through her chest – if you don't defend yourself, you soon will!" he threatened

"Are you threatening me, Sir Gwaine?"

"Yes."

"I am the King!" he shouted

"Oh I know full well who you are. And I know full well who that dying girl is out there. You know she's his daughter right?"

"How did you know?" he asked quietly, taken aback by what he had said

"Oh please – it was almost as obvious as Merlin's magic was, but even you didn't see that did you? If you had, maybe you wouldn't have attempted to kill your best friend all those years ago! You are just a coward Arthur Pendragon. She was no threat to you and yet you have basically killed her."

"No threat? No threat? She was about to kill him!"

"And you believed that she would? Really? You've known her for what – almost a year and you thought her capable of murder? You on the other hand are perfectly capable! You just have! And if cold blooded murder of a defenceless child wasn't enough – you did it from behind. SHE HAD NO IDEA THAT YOU WERE COMING!" He shouted in pure anger

"You are just a cold hearted monster like Uther and if Merlin ever forgave you for what you did – don't worry, I won't, and that's a promise."

**#~MERLIN~#**

Merlin had stayed by her bedside for hours not eating or sleeping just watching and waiting for something to show that she was recovering. The bleeding seemed to have finally stopped but people had died from far less severe injuries in the past and she had lost a lot of blood so far and the chances were slim at best. The rest of the Kingdom infected with the illusive disease seemed to be in a kind of limbo state like it had been before but for some strange reason Prince Kay had recovered making him the first survivor. He had no idea why he had and why no one else was getting infected but he just prayed it stayed like that for as long as Alexa needed to recover because she was going to recover – she had to. In the early hours of the morning Gwen had come down to check on them both because it seemed like she wasn't able to get much sleep either. After a while she was able to persuade Merlin to get some rest whilst she watched over the sleeping child but Merlin had a better idea and instead headed to a clearing in the outskirts of the town. With a loud roar into the night sky soon two shapes were visible in the horizon and began to approach at speed before gently touching down in front of the young dragonlord.

"Why is it you have called us here at this hour Merlin?" the older dragon sighed

"You know why! She's dying and I cannot help her!" he shouted with tears pricked in his eyes

"You speak of the witch Angauna," said Kilgharrah and Aithusa cocked his head sharply at the mention of his 'friend'.

"Why can't I help her?" he asked sadly

"Excalibur is a sword forged with a dragon's breath with the abilities beyond your comprehension. A wound caused by such a blade is irreversible and cannot be cured by the conventional means of magic."

"What can I do to help then? Can you save her?"

"I would not save that witch under any circumstances, young warlock"

"I command you to!"

"Nothing that even a dragonlord like yourself could command me to do such a thing."

"But you must obey my words! I command you to help save her!"

"No, Merlin. I shall not." He replied leaving Merlin dumbfounded

"How can you just leave her dying? She is my daughter!"

"I know full well who Angauna is."

"What? You knew that she was my daughter and didn't tell me? You told me to kill her!"

"Yes, I did. And for good reason – she is not just a threat to you Merlin!"

"But her destiny was to kill _me_! Not anyone else!"

"No one except the druid elders and I know of the true prophecy of that little witch, even she only knows about her part in your death – everyone was very careful about that."

"Well then... what's the rest of this prophecy?"

"If I tell you Merlin, you must NEVER tell that girl – is that understood. If she survives that is."

"Ok, I won't tell her." He agreed

"There is only one prophecy about the whole of Albion and its rise. You will only understand part of it mind, and it can be changed – but Angauna herself cannot be. What the prophecy states she will be, she will become it – do not fool yourself Merlin. Let her die.

_After the rule of a tyrant comes the son,_

_He who will reunite the bonds once broken,_

_Guided by Emrys, the most powerful warlock of all,_

_Rises the Once and Future King,_

_The betrayal of Le Fay will create,_

_A yet stronger kingdom,_

_Although she shall persevere and continue,_

_To strike at the heart, the King and Emrys,_

_The daughter of which shall become Angauna,_

_The fall of the warlock,_

_Strikes once to be stopped,_

_And to visit the other land,_

_Creates a pathway which he shall choose,_

_But the choice is his alone,_

_After resurrect strike twice to create,_

_A break not suspected,_

_Strike thrice with allies,_

_And begin the end,_

_Unknown power matched only,_

_By blood and brother,_

_She will be the finish,_

_The death of magic._

You must stop this Merlin, at all costs"

**#~MERLIN~#**

He arrived back just as dawn was breaking in Camelot and found Gwen patiently sat by Alexa's bedside holding her hand as she slept. He gently tapped her on the shoulder and gave her a small smile whilst offering her a drink of water and an extra cushion for the chair she was sat on. She smiled back in response as he sat opposite her on the other side and carefully pushed back a stray strand of raven black hair off Alexa's face and placed her other hand in his. After a couple of minutes a small moan escaped her lips and after a few more she had almost regained consciousness.

"Water" she managed to say but it was barely a whisper. Gwen silently got up and handed Merlin a glass to give her before leaving the room knowing that he'd want some time alone with her.

"Wh..am...I?" she asked through the pain

"You're back in Camelot now" he answered

"Wha.. ha..pnd?"

"You got hurt. Stabbed by a sword." He said truthfully waiting for her to ask who did it but was surprised by her next question

"How's... K..." he mentally smiled at that, she always looked out for other's before herself

"He's fine now, I don't know why though..."

"Mor..ana said sh..d.. save h..m if I ..id it. Wh..t...'bout ..ryone else?"

"They're ill but no one else is dying. You should try not to speak or exert yourself"

"No... you ne..d to ... f..nd.. the ..v..sle.." she said, forcing herself to speak but her face was beginning to drain of colour

"Alexa something's wrong you need to stop exerting yourself and rest, I think the wound has reopened."

"No..." she mumbled but her voice was getting weaker "F..nd...the.. ve...sle...she...put...a...c..rse on..it"

"Fine, fine! But you really need to relax and let me see to your wound, you've started losing blood again!" Spots of red could be seen on the bandages now

"Pr..m..se...me..." she whispered

"Yes, yes fine but I need to operate again now! Gwen? Gwen! Are you there?" he shouted but before anyone arrived her eyes rolled back into her head and it lolled to the side.

"No, no, no, NO, NO!" he shouted, frantically trying to find a pulse but couldn't. By the time Gwen managed to come back, Alexandra had died in the arms of her father.

**#~MERLIN~#**

**The end? I think not!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Well, this was a bit late...whoops...

Sorry to everyone who was reading this story, I got a bit distracted...he..he... oh well, it's here now so I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own it. Yet.

P.s. Merlin is ending! Nooooooooo! I was soo sad when they announced it! On the plus side, Merlin kinda has to reveal his magic sort of soon now... yay!

A storm was coming. Everyone in Camelot could feel it – they were just waiting for the calm to be broken.

Only a select few actually knew what was causing it. The great Emrys was fighting a battle between his heart and his head.

No one had him since they had taken her body away; nobody but a few had seen Arthur for that matter either.

Gwen was worried. The last time she had seen her friend she hadn't really seen him at all, just an empty shell with no emotion. She didn't really know how he was coping but one thing she did know was what grief could do. After losing her father, it felt like the world had just been turned upside down and all that she could do was find someone to blame.

Merlin was going to blame Arthur.

Sooner or later she knew Merlin was going to crack and, being the most powerful warlock of all time, no one would know what he was capable of.

**~Merlin~**

It was cold. She was confused – one minute blinding pain, the next, she just felt cold.

Slowly and cautiously she pried her eyes open, blinking profusely as her vision began to clear. Pulling herself into a sitting position, she began taking in her surroundings.

Although she had no idea how she had arrived there; she was currently sitting in the middle amongst the ruins of an old castle. It barred a striking resemblance to the Isle of the Blessed but instead of being surrounded by water, the tiny island seemed to be floating on top of fog or mist that surrounded it for what must have been leagues and leagues into the distance.

Suddenly she felt very isolated.

Grabbing a nearby rock for support, she yanked herself off the cold earth below and started taking step by steady step in the direction of what really interested her. Bang in the centre of the island was an archway – the only thing that remained standing.

Her fingers traced the stone as she regarded it with curiosity. Symbols covered every inch of the bare rock, some she recognised, some she didn't – you didn't live with the druids without learning some things.

It must have stood maybe 10 feet tall but where the open archway should have led to the other side of the island a delicate, mist-like white sheet covered it instead.

"I see you found the veil, Lexi." A voice echoed.

Alexa spun round in fright and shock – only one person had ever called her that.

"Rowan!" she exclaimed ecstatically, running to embrace the boy leaning against a part of a ruined wall. He grinned and pulled her into a massive hug.

Alexa felt her heart pounding in her chest as she flung her arms around him. She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again as if just to check that this was all real.

"What are you doing here?" she whispered with tears streaming down her face.

"I'm pretty sure I should be asking you that question!" He smiled, ruffling her hair affectionately.

"Do you remember what happened?" He asked in a more serious tone, wiping away the tears from her face.

"I...I.." she frowned in confusion before her eyes opened wide in realisation "Morgana, the sword – I was stabbed! What about the vessel, I don't remember – Merlin!" Rowan watched her intently as she continued to fire out information at top speed, subconsciously placing her hand over her chest. As the memories all came together, she became silent once more.

"Am I dead?" She whispered hoarsely, staring hard into Rowan's eyes for some kind of confirmation and comfort.

"I'm sorry Lexi."

He pulled her close as she whimpered, threatening to break into tears again.

"Why are you here?" She muffled into his shoulder.

"Same as you." He grinned as he pulled out of their embrace, making her smile sadly.

"It's all my fault, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for you to die."

"Don't apologise, Lex. It's not your fault, it was my stupid clumsiness that made me fall into the river – not you."

_7 years earlier_

"_Lexi!" a young boy of around 8 whined at the small raven haired girl in front of him who was stood precariously close to the edge of the river. "Come back!" _

"_One minute, almost got it... stop worrying R" the girl said as she reached over the edge to retrieve the hair ribbon caught on a rock near the edge of the river. "Got it!" she cried but the relief was short lived when she lost her footing on the edge of the bank and tumbled over, the only thing now separating her and the treacherous waters below was the few tufts of grass and mud that she had managed to grasp hold of at the last second, but her grip was slipping._

"_Lexi!" the boy shouted running forward to help his friend as she slowly started to lose hold of the only grip she had. He quickly ran over to the edge and grabbed her by the arm just before she fell into the icy water and slowly began pulling her up over the edge to safety. She collapsed onto the grassy embankment panting but relieved that they were both safe once more. _

"_That was..." Alexa started, turning around to face where the boy had been – 'had' being the operative word. "close..." she finished. _

_Standing up unsteadily she frantically searched her surroundings but her companion was gone._

Alexa shook the memory from her head. That day she had lost her best friend in the world.

"But shouldn't you have moved on by now?" she questioned with uncertainty, carefully observing her friend as he sighed deeply.

"I've been waiting for you. We're bound together Lexi – I could never move on to Avalon without you." He took her hand in his when she started tearing up again.

"Great," she laughed harshly "So not only am I the reason why you died but now I'm also the reason why you've been stuck in limbo for five years. Well, I guess we can both go now – I won't hold you up much longer."

"No." He said surprisingly, dropping her hand and looking at her sternly.

"What?" Alexa's face was full of confusion, hadn't he just said that he had waited for her all of this time?

"This isn't your time Lexi. You have to complete what the fates laid out for you."

"You know I can't do that Rowan. Besides, I'm dead! It's not like I can just go back because of some stupid destiny that I wish I never had!"

"Well..." he trailed off. She narrowed her eyes.

"Well what?"

"You're too important to die now. You have to go back – the fates won't allow you to stay, they're getting restless." Sure enough, as soon as he had said so, an unnatural wind started to pick up and the place seemed to get darker and even colder.

"Before, you mentioned the veil – what is it?"

"The veil between my world, the spirit world, and yours, the living world. That's how you got here. When you died in your world, you came to mine. Normally this is strictly a one way journey but they've made an exception for you. The balance of the world has to be restored, you cannot stay, I'm sorry."

"No." She refused with a shake of her head.

"You have to go!"

"No! I'm not leaving you! I've only just got you back!"

"Bye Lexi." He smiled, a lone tear dripping down his cheek as he pushed her through the archway.

**~Merlin~**

Arthur sat on his thrown deep in thought. His brow was furrowed and he refused to speak with anyone – not like the Knights would speak to him anyway.

Gwaine's outburst had made him see his mistake but now he couldn't do anything to correct it. The girl was dead. Merlin's only child was dead because of him.

The guilt itself would be enough to drive him insane and now Merlin had disappeared. He wanted to be able to talk with him, apologise even though he knew full well that he would not accept it. Merlin would hate him. He's lost his best friend forever.

The King stared straight ahead in complete concentration and focus, that was, however, until he blinked.

Merlin was now stood at the other side of the hall, giving him a look of pure malice that could crumble an entire army.

Arthur held his ground, despite feeling incredibly uneasy in his presence.

Merlin was near unrecognisable – everything about him radiated evil and hatred, no feature upon his face was the same as the usual idiot of a friend he used to know. He didn't speak and the silence between the two soon became suffocating.

Arthur made an attempt to stand but a lightning quick flick of a wrist from the other man had him forced back into his thrown and held there by invisible bonds.

"Merlin what are you doing?!" The King shouted after recovering from the force of the spell.

Merlin still refused to say a word.

"Let me go, Merlin! I am the King!" he boomed, futilely struggling against whatever magic held him in place.

"You're no King of mine."

The simple statement had Arthur immediately subdued. It broke him to hear his best friend say such a thing and what made it worse was that he'd meant every single word.

"Merlin, I-"

"SILENCE!" Arthur now found that he couldn't speak or move. He was completely paralysed and alone facing the most powerful warlock of all time.

"I trusted you. I spent all those years believing that you would become the King you were destined to be even though I had to hide who I really was every single day in case you had me executed. I was your friend. Not any more."

Merlin began to advance painfully slowly, never taking his eyes off Arthur, focusing completely and absolutely on him.

"I even forgave you for what you did to me when you did finally discover my little secret." He laughed harshly in a way that made Arthur wince. This was the complete opposite to the Merlin he had known.

"You remember that, don't you Arthur?"

_16 years earlier_

"_Under the laws of Camelot, this man has committed the highest form of treason against the Kingdom through the practise of sorcery within these very walls. He is also guilty of attempted harm to myself, crimes that cannot remain unpunished. It is my sworn duty to protect this Kingdom from such evil and so I have no choice to sentence him to pay for his crimes with his life. The execution will be at dawn."_

_Merlin looked up at his King with what Arthur first thought was a plea for help but he soon realised it was not. It was a look of disappointment. _

_Arthur's chest was tight and his breathing heavy as he watched his best friend being dragged roughly away by guards. Even though part of him felt so angry by the betrayal, he couldn't help but feel like he'd let Merlin down._

The King looked up at the warlock, trying to convey his apologies for his mistakes in his expression. Even if Merlin saw his remorse, he didn't care.

"You killed her. You brutally murdered her and for that, Arthur Pendragon, I promise you. You. Will. Pay."

Merlin was dangerously close now and Arthur had no doubt in his mind that his friend was ready to kill him.

"After everything I sacrificed to build this Kingdom and protect you." He shook his head at the thought of the wasted years.

"This is one thing I can't forgive you for Arthur."

Arthur flinched as Merlin raised his hand but refused to close his eyes. If he was going to die then he was going to die without fear.

"No!" A shout came from the entrance of the hall. Merlin lost his concentration and focus, turning to see who had disturbed them.

Nothing could have prepared him for the sight of a bedraggled raven haired girl with his blue eyes watching in horror at the scene.


End file.
